


Half-Past the Point of No Return

by momopeachchild



Series: Dragon Age Writings [7]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: M/M, Multi, No sebastian, bye, fenhawke - Freeform, nanders - Freeform, send help, there goes my soul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 23:34:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4118764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momopeachchild/pseuds/momopeachchild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Nathaniel Howe became a companion in DA2 as was planned, instead of Sebastian?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half-Past the Point of No Return

**Author's Note:**

  * For [therickykitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/therickykitty/gifts).



> This is all Ricky's fault. I didn't want this, I didn't want to ship this.   
> Unbeta'd  
> Someone send help

Anders did not want to go back to the Deep Roads. Ever. He had told himself never again, never again would he enter those dank, dark tunnels, the crumbling ruins of a once Great Empire. No, if he was going to die, it’d be some place with a greater purpose than “Find Darkspawn, Kill Darkspawn, wash, rinse, Repeat”. He’d die helping people, he’d die trying to ease pain and suffering.

But by Andraste’s Knicker Weasels there he was, in the blighted Deep Roads once again. Why? Because a pretty face had come to him for the maps, and he’d found himself dragged along for the ride. And Anders had seen how Hawke fought, oh yes he had. He just threw himself into the fray without any regard for his physical well-being. As a healer, and a fellow mage, it drove him nuts, and when Hawke announced they had enough money to go, he could not, in all good conscious, let him go without a healer.

The man questioned the wisdom of letting Hawke’s younger brother come along, but he seemed dead set to go along, and Hawke let him. It started out fine, and he was sensing fewer darkspawn than his last trip in, though really that meant shit all. They were still on the outskirts, there would be more farther in.There always were. Still, it wasn’t too bad yet, and thankfully the company wasn’t as bad as it honestly could have been. He had even asked if the merchant traveling with them was the same Bodhan and his son, that had traveled with the Warden Commander, the Hero of Fereldan, and was rather delighted to find out that they were! It wasn’t much, but it was nice to swap stories at break, and Sandal was a pleasant enough boy. Bit odd though. 

But things couldn't be easy, could they? Oh no, Anders should have suspected they’d be betrayed, once Varric’s brother got what he wanted. And that wasn’t even the worst part! Wading through demons, and rock creatures, and more darkspawn, only to find poor Carver, sick with the blight. But there were Wardens set to patrol near there, he couldn't say how he knew, just that he did, and it took very little time for Hawke to decided that was the only way to save him. He was expecting Stroud, expecting dark looks and veiled threats, but what he wasn’t expecting was that face. That voice, than hearkened back to the days when being a Grey Warden had been freedom.

“Nathaniel?” He whispered and the dark haired man smiled.  
“Anders.” He greeted, and the blonde bit his lip, looking nervously at Stroud. But he was more interested in helping Carver, and Anders slipped his friend a message, simply a poorly drawn map to where he was staying and squeezed his hand before they parted ways.

00

It wasn’t like Anders had honestly thought that Nathaniel would have time to come visit him, but he had also be praying to the Maker than his friend would keep it, in case he needed it, and not hand it over to the Wardens. He would never go back alive. Yet the soft knock at his door at an obscene hour of the morning meant one of a few things for Anders. There was someone sick or wounded who needed his tending, a mage had fled the Circle, it was Hawke, or the Templars had finally come. Steeling himself for what he might find, when Anders cracked the door he was not expecting to see a tiny orange kitten being held out to him. 

"What the--" he muttered, laughing as it gently tapped his nose with it's paw and mewled. Opening the door wider, he felt a smile cross his lips. There was only one person in the world who would bring him a tiny orange kitten. Well, two, but only one of whom knew where he was. Though if he was going to be honest with himself, he doubted the Warden Commander would have no problem finding him. But it was still a massive relief to find his favourite archer on the other end of the kitten, smiling softly at him. There had been something there before he had run, but there had be no time, no chances to explore it. Gently he took the kitten and held it close, smiling as he led Nate in, apologizing for the sparseness. But it seemed his friend didn't care, just content to follow him around and chuckled at the cot he was offered.

"Still better than sleeping on the ground in the Deep Roads," he offered and Anders nodded, playing with the kitten.  
"What's his name?"  
"I was thinking Ser-Pounce-A-Lot the Second," he offered and Anders felt his face brighten more, letting the kitten wander a bit. Nathaniel took his hand carefully and smiled, squeezing gently. "You've been gone a while, Anders. What's happened?" he asked, and soon it was all spilling out. Everything that had happened since he fled, and he felt a little ashamed to get so choked up about Karl around his friend, but Nathaniel simply moved over and hugged him, stroking his hair as he pressed his face to his shoulder. 

It was nice, to vent like this. He felt freer to do so with Nathaniel, than with Hawke or the others. He didn't quite trust them yet, but he trusted Nate with his life. Had trusted him with his life several times. Finally, as the last pieces of his life tumbled from his mouth, Nathaniel nodded and gently offered him a handkerchief, ruffling his hair a bit. "Well at least this dwarf doesn't seem to drink and belch in excess," he offered, and Anders had to laughing, remembering all too strikingly how very much there Oghren had been, and how delighted their Commander had been to see him. Commander Surana had even gone as far to hug him before they moved on. 

"What a merry band of misfits we were," He laughed, and shrugged. "Some how I've found myself in another one, Nate."   
Chuckling the Archer nodded and stroked his hair back, looking around his home. "Remind me to find you a place with walls." he teased, but Anders felt like that was more of a promise than teasing.


End file.
